Pumpkin Spice Lies: A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 16 by Kathleen Suzette (new books to read .txt) 📗

Pumpkin Spice Lies

A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery

By Kathleen Suzette

Copyright © 2020 by Kathleen Suzette. All rights reserved. This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination, or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronically or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author or publisher.

Books by Kathleen Suzette:

A Rainey Daye Cozy Mystery Series

Clam Chowder and a Murder

A Rainey Daye Cozy Mystery, book 1

A Short Stack and a Murder

A Rainey Daye Cozy Mystery, book 2

Cherry Pie and a Murder

A Rainey Daye Cozy Mystery, book 3

Barbecue and a Murder

A Rainey Daye Cozy Mystery, book 4

Birthday Cake and a Murder

A Rainey Daye Cozy Mystery, book 5

Hot Cider and a Murder

A Rainey Daye Cozy Mystery, book 6

Roast Turkey and a Murder

A Rainey Daye Cozy Mystery, book 7

Gingerbread and a Murder

A Rainey Daye Cozy Mystery, book 8

Fish Fry and a Murder

A Rainey Daye Cozy Mystery, book 9

Cupcakes and a Murder

A Rainey Daye Cozy Mystery, book 10

Lemon Pie and a Murder

A Rainey Daye Cozy Mystery, book 11

Pasta and a Murder

A Rainey Daye Cozy Mystery, book 12

Chocolate Cake and a Murder

A Rainey Daye Cozy Mystery, book 13

A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery Series

Candy Coated Murder

A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 1

Murderously Sweet

A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 2

Chocolate Covered Murder

A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 3

Death and Sweets

A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 4

Sugared Demise

A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 5

Confectionately Dead

A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 6

Hard Candy and a Killer

A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 7

Candy Kisses and a Killer

A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 8

Terminal Taffy

A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 9

Fudgy Fatality

A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 10

Truffled Murder

A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 11

Caramel Murder

A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 12

Peppermint Fudge Killer

A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 13

Chocolate Heart Killer

A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 14

Strawberry Creams and Death

A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 15

Pumpkin Spice Lies

A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 16

 

A Freshly Baked Cozy Mystery Series

Apple Pie A La Murder,

A Freshly Baked Cozy Mystery, Book 1

Trick or Treat and Murder,

A Freshly Baked Cozy Mystery, Book 2

Thankfully Dead

A Freshly Baked Cozy Mystery, Book 3

Candy Cane Killer

A Freshly Baked Cozy Mystery, Book 4

Ice Cold Murder

A Freshly Baked Cozy Mystery, Book 5

Love is Murder

A Freshly Baked Cozy Mystery, Book 6

Strawberry Surprise Killer

A Freshly Baked Cozy Mystery, Book 7

Plum Dead

A Freshly Baked Cozy Mystery, book 8

Red, White, and Blue Murder

A Freshly Baked Cozy Mystery, book 9

 

 

 

A Gracie Williams Mystery Series

Pushing Up Daisies in Arizona,

A Gracie Williams Mystery, Book 1

Kicked the Bucket in Arizona,

A Gracie Williams Mystery, Book 2

A Home Economics Mystery Series

Appliqued to Death

A Home Economics Mystery, book 1

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter One

I walked into the kitchen at the candy store and stopped, inhaling deeply. The scent of a mixture of spices hung in the air. “Oh my gosh, that smells so good,” I said.

Mom looked at me from where she stood at the counter, smoothing out a tray of fudge with the back of a wooden spoon. She smiled. “The first batch of the year of pumpkin spice fudge. It seems like forever since I made any, and I sure do miss it.”

I went to stand beside her, looking at the huge tray of fudge she had made. “I miss it, too. There’s nothing like pumpkin spice fudge.” The cinnamon and clove scent brought back so many memories from Halloweens past. “I think I could eat this whole tray by myself.”

“You and me both,” she said with a grin. “Let’s give it a few more minutes to set up, and then we’ll have a taste.”

My mouth watered. “I don’t know if I can wait, but I’ll try.” If ever there was a scent that told the story of my life, it would have to be pumpkin spice.

“I recognize that wonderful smell,” Christy said, suddenly appearing at the kitchen doorway. “I can smell it all the way over in the shop.”

We had recently leased the smaller shop next door to the candy store and turned it into our kitchen so we could enlarge the candy shop and also make a break room for the employees. Beginning last year, we had had to hire temporary employees that worked during the busier seasons, so the break room had been a needed addition.

I turned to her. “Isn’t it wonderful?”

She came to look at the fudge, and smelled it. “Oh, my gosh, I’ve got to have some now. Can I please have some pumpkin spice fudge?”

“Give it a few minutes to finish cooling,” Mom said. “We’ll all have some then.”

Christy groaned.

Pumpkin Hollow is a small town in Northern California, and we celebrate Halloween all year long. The Halloween season runs from Labor Day weekend through about the second week of November, depending on when the second weekend of the month lands. But we had decided that having a mini Halloween season during the summer would do a lot to help local businesses. We dubbed the event Pumpkin Hollow Days, and it ran